US Uncut: Standing Up to Corporate Tax Dodgers

Inspired by the British movement against corporate tax dodgers, the new grassroots group US Uncut held protests around the country on February 26, most of them in front of Bank of America branches. Why? The bank paid no income taxes in 2009 and 2010. US Uncut is calling out large corporations that find loopholes or use offshore tax havens to evade paying taxes in the country where they do business. If corporations paid up, activists point out, many of the deep cuts in social services happening at the state and federal level wouldn't be necessary.

More and more people are noticing a correlation between multi-billion dollar budget deficits and multi-billion dollar tax evasions. On Saturday, US Uncut protests popped up in 50 cities across the United States, and some—like in Washington, D.C.—even shut branches down for the day. February 26 was the kickoff day of action for US Uncut, but more protests are already scheduled for the coming months.